Into the Deep Blue Sea
by dragonrider1234
Summary: A Slice of Life and Mermaid!AU story. Makoto, Haru, Rin, Sousuke, Rei, Nagisa, and all their friends are merpeople living in the oceans. Fate has brought them together, and when you have a strange group of marine mammals and fish gathered in one area, shenanigans happen of course! Tone/genre may change from chapter to chapter.
1. Where Stories Begin in the Deep Blue Sea

**AN: Hello _Free!_ readers! FD here with another fanfic. Before we get started, I just want to give a shoutout to my sister, Starla, and for another author on this site, named ** **XxFuyukaina-BakaxX** , **for they're role in inspiring me to write this story. The idea first came to me when Starla told me that there are surprisingly few fanfics with these characters as the marine animals that we associate them with, especially with Sousuke as a whale shark, and I thought, why not give it a try myself (lol).**

 **Also, around that time, I had just finished reading an amazing story by** **XxFuyukaina-BakaxX called ' _Across the Waters'_ and the ideas from that story really inspired the concepts in this one, so please check out this amazing story (it's a really amazing story to read at 1 AM). And then, lo' and behold, this story came to be after countless late nights that I should have used to do my homework.**

 **Disclaimers : I do not own anything. The characters from _Free! Iwatobi Swim Club_ belong to their respective owners, and this is a fictional work made purely for fun and enjoyment. This story is also not in any way connected to _'Across the Waters'_ by ****XxFuyukaina-BakaxX. That story belongs to them, and this story stands on its own.**

 **And another quick note for this chapter: The story jumps around a lot time-wise. If it makes things less confusing, think of the first section with Haru and Makoto as taking place in the present time as they flashback to the past, while the other two sections take place in the past. I hope this makes sense.**

 **With all that out of the way, please enjoy ' _Into the Deep Blue Sea'._**

* * *

 **Where Stories Begin in the Deep Blue Sea**

"Haru-chan! Wait for me!" Makoto whines as he pushes himself to go faster through the water.

The speedy dolphin merman turns back and sighs, anxious to keep moving, "Drop the -chan."

Panting, the killer whale merman gestures upward, and the two surface or, in Haru's case, leaps out of the water for some air.

Diving back down, Makoto crosses his arms and huffs, "Haru…we should wait for the rest of the pod."

Haru, in turn, also huffs in annoyance, but complies anyway, choosing, instead, to swim circles around Makoto as the larger killer whale merman's crossed expression melts away, and he laughs at his friend's antics. This makes Haru smile ever so slightly as well, seeing Makoto so happy and carefree.

As the two laugh and swim together, it's easy to forget sometimes that what they had didn't start out quite like this.

Haru had lost his own pod years ago. Sensing the young dolphin's distressed clicks and screeches, Makoto's pod found him wandering in the open ocean for days, starving and utterly lost and alone. His mother took pity on the dolphin merboy and welcomed him into their family. At the time, Makoto was only a few months old and was actually terrified of the slightly older dolphin, clinging to his mom's side to hide and not knowing what to even think of the new addition to his family. At the same time, the small, blue dolphin was also very shy and timid to the orcas around him, opting to be more cautious and swim with Makoto's family rather than with the other members of the pod. Haru only rarely spoke to Makoto's mother and was often found either by her side or at the edge of the pod. Either way, he didn't really acknowledge Makoto, and the young killer whale thought that it was because Haru didn't really like him. So they kept their distance.

Then, one day, Makoto's mom decided to push her sons to go play with the other killer whale merboys their age, while the pod rests and goes out to hunt. But try as he might, Makoto just couldn't keep up with the others and was left behind time and time again. Crying, the small killer whale was about to swim back to his mom when Haru swam up to him.

"Are you okay?" the slightly smaller dolphin merboy said with a small tilt of his head. Makoto wiped his tears away and shook his head. Frowning, Haru held out his hand, "Come on. I want to show you something."

Makoto was stunned and hesitant at first but then a weak smile spread across his face, and he takes the other merboy's hand. After going up for air, Haru led Makoto downward towards the sandy ocean floor. After letting go of Makoto's hand, Haru began swimming on his back as Makoto watched in confusion. Haru puckered his lips and let out a puff of breath, releasing a burst of bubbles.

Makoto was even more confused, "Bubbles?"

Haru held up one of his hands and tried again. With the right formation, the dolphin blows a small, rough ring of bubbles, amazing the young killer whale. He tried again and again until finally, an expanding bubble ring floated up in front of Makoto. He stared at it in awe, wanting to reach out and touch it. But before he could, Haru swam up with a flick of his tail through the ring, startling Makoto.

However, instead of crying, the younger merboy giggled, all traces of his previous sadness gone. They spent the rest of their afternoon swimming through rings that Haru made and playing along the sea floor until Makoto's mom calls them to return to the pod. Smiling, Makoto and Haru swam back hand-in-hand, chatting together all the way and knowing that this is that start of a truly amazing friendship.

"Makoto?"

The said young merman snaps out of his trip down memory lane and looks over at Haru, now older and still smaller than him, yet still having the same deep, understanding, and kind blue eyes as all those years ago.

"What were you thinking?" the dolphin asks with a cute tilt of the head.

Makoto gives Haru his signature warm smile and holds the other merman's hands in his larger ones, "Just remembering."

Haru returns the smile with his own and the two half-cetaceans move closer to nuzzle their noses together, their tails brushing and curling against one another lovingly. Even after all these years, their hands still fit together so well, and Makoto hopes that there would never be a time or a world where they aren't together side by side.

"Onii-chan! Haru-chan!" loud calls signal the arrival of Makoto's younger twin siblings. Without any further warning, two speedy killer whale merchildren swim into both Makoto and Haru, wiggling their way in between them. While Makoto easily catches and hugs his brother, Haru has a slightly harder time handling a cuddling Ran, who's nearly his size.

"Why did you both run off?!" Ran squeaks, holding Haru closer.

"We wanted to play with you," Ren finishes his twin's thought, making both Haru and Makoto feel guilty.

"Alright Ran, Ren," Makoto placates the two, "We'll play here until the pod catches up. Haru? Can you do the rings again?"

Haru smiles. Of course he would. Anything for his family.

* * *

The ocean is a large and vast place. Its sheer size can make you realize that no matter how large or powerful you may think you are, the ocean is always going to be bigger, stronger, and scarier.

Sighing for what feels like the billionth time that day, Sousuke pushes forward in search of the next batch of plankton, having grown hungrier in the last hour after his last meal. Though he is still young, the whale shark merboy is growing a little too large for the cove he was born in and desperately needs to find more food. Instinct is urging him to leave the comfort and safety of the cove and head out into the deep, blue, mysterious unknown, and while he knows that more food can be found out there, a part of him is still too unsure and scared to leave.

Eventually though, his stomach finally overtakes his fears, and he takes the plunge and swims out, not even looking back at the place he'd call home for so many years of his young life. Instead, he focuses his sight on the wide open ocean, staring into the blue abyss. And it didn't take long for the fear and uncertainty to begin gnawing away at his resolve.

However, after just a few short hours of swimming aimlessly, the whale shark merboy finally detects a cloud of plankton and rich fish eggs. Momentarily forgetting his fears, Sousuke takes massive gulps of seawater and eats, not noticing a dark, ominous shape swimming towards him. If there's one thing he should have instinctually learn, it's that even when feeding, he should never take his eyes and senses off his surroundings, especially since he's still young and not anywhere near his full size.

Having swallowed his meal, Sousuke finally takes notice the presence coming at him, but it's too late. He feels something bump into his side, stunning him and preventing him from moving out of sheer fright.

A shark.

A shark…merboy?

The young whale shark barely has time to process what's happening when the merboy swims up to face him, looking at him with curiosity, rather than hunger. Sousuke knows that he's a whale shark, it being one of the few things he faintly remembers his mother telling him upon his birth, but he also learned from stories from fishes in the cove that there are other sharks out there not like him, that are ferocious predators willing to eat just about anything if hungry enough. Swallowing, Sousuke shuts his eyes and waits for the inevitable. Barely a few years of life, and he's going to get eaten. A whimper escapes his lips, and he shields his face with his arms, too frightened to get his tail working properly.

"What are you?"

Sousuke is shaking but stops upon hearing the shark's young voice.

"Hey…it's okay…you look like me…I won't eat you…" the shark merboy says as calmly as he could, holding his hands up in a placating manner.

Hesitantly, Sousuke lowers his arms and finally takes in the merboy in front of him. He has bright maroon hair that frames his face and a wide gentle smile full of teeth that aren't quite as sharp yet. From the waist down is gray and white fins that, aside from the coloring and stripes, look remarkably like his own. The shark merboy is also roughly his size.

The maroon-headed merboy smiles sheepishly, "I'm Rin."

"S…Sousuke…" he whimpers and then flinches, "are you really not gonna eat me?"

Rin shakes his head enthusiastically, "No! I already ate some fish before I saw you. Wanna swim?"

Sousuke recoils slightly in surprise. Is this merboy really asking to swim with him? What if he later decides to eat him? What if this was all a trick? He has heard stories of how ruthless and cunning some sharks are. Gripping his fingers and looking to the side, Sousuke is contemplating what to do.

The shark merboy, however, deflates a little, seeing the other merboy's hesitance. "I…I understand. It's okay. I'll leave you alone. It's just kinda lonely out here and I was hoping to swim with a friend." Rin lowers his head sadly and is about to turn and swim off when…

"Wait!" Sousuke stops the other merboy from leaving. He doesn't know what's come over him, but he feels bad for the other shark. He, too, had just left the sanctuary of his cove, where there were so many other fish and creatures of all shapes and sizes, and looking out into the wide-open ocean, he realizes that it looks really lonely out there. "I'll swim with you." He turns and looks away bashfully.

Beaming, Rin laughs gleefully and grabs Sousuke's hand, pulling him along. They end up sharing many stories about themselves and they're experiences so far, and Sousuke even learns that Rin is a tiger shark. Laughing, the two swim side by side, occasionally even racing each other as they explore the open ocean, yet remaining in relatively the same area of the ocean. It's nice.

Swimming next to Rin, Sousuke doesn't feel as alone and the ocean doesn't feel as large or as daunting. Occasionally, they would have to part to find food for themselves, but they always make time to swim together and challenge each other, especially when it comes to their speed.

However, as both merboys soon learn, all good things must eventually come to an end. The currents have moved on, and Sousuke knows that he has to swim further out to find more food. Rin, meanwhile, is hesitant and opts to stay in the same area, not yet ready or old enough to go any further. Realizing that this may be goodbye, the two merboys swim side by side once more, both silent and in their own worlds.

Rin then bumps into Sousuke gently, "Don't forget me okay?!" he tries to put on a tough face, but Sousuke smiles knowingly, seeing some small bubbles escape the corners of the other merboy's amber eyes.

"Of course I won't. Let's make a promise," Rin looks over in confusion but doesn't say anything, waiting for Sousuke to explain himself, "The next time we see each other…we'll swim together. Deal?"

"How about a race?" Rin asks eagerly, to which Sousuke smiles and nods.

The two shark merboys intertwine their fingers to seal their promise. With a parting grip of their hands and a wave, Sousuke swims off into the deep, open ocean, now a little braver and more ready to face the open ocean before him. And, of course, more driven to conquer his fears and make his way back to Rin.

* * *

"What is that?" Nagisa wonders aloud as he gazes at the small, strange creature below him. The little penguin goes back to the surface to breath, squawking excitedly to another penguin to his side, "Did you see that? What was that?!"

"Hmm," the other penguin lowers his head to peer down before looking back up again, "Kid, it's a spotted eagle ray merman. I wouldn't mess with them. They're related to sharks."

But Nagisa's eyes are already glimmering in excitement, "I've never met one before!" Before the older penguin can stop him, Nagisa is already diving down, trying to catch up to the small ray. "Hey! Hey you! Wait! Mr. Eagle Ray!"

The ray, with a graceful flap of its fins, whirls around to face the flapping penguin, who quickly realizes that the ray is about his size. Under its light gray, spotted wings, Nagisa can see a curious, young face as it tilts to the side in confusion. "Can I help you?"

Nagisa stops just in front of the ray and gapes at it in awe, "I've never seen a creature like you before! My friend called you a spotted eagle ray!"

"Yes, and you're a Galapagos penguin," the ray states more as a fact than a question.

"Yep!" Nagisa chirps happily before gasping, "Wait a moment." Going up quickly for air, the young penguin dives back down only to see the ray swim further away. "Hey! Wait!" The ray seems to wince a little, but does so anyway, once again whirling around gracefully that makes Nagisa utterly breathless. Once again, Nagisa swims up to him, "I'd like to know more about you!"

"I can't stay in one place for long though," the ray utters bluntly before swimming off again.

"Can I go with you?" Nagisa asks excitedly.

"I go down pretty deep."

"Then I'll go with you as far as I can."

The ray was about to protest some more, but the happy, gleeful look on the young penguin's face makes the ray give in and he sighs. Turning back around, he continues onward, and Nagisa follows close beside as best he could, after going up for some air that is.

"My name is Nagisa by the way. What's your name?"

"Rei," the young ray answers succinctly.

"Really?" Rei's pointed look makes the young penguin hold his tongue. But not for long, "Did your parents name you that? They must be pretty punny…"

"No," Rei interrupts the chittering penguin, "I barely know my parents. My mom just told me who I am at birth, and I was on my own."

"Oh…" Nagisa mutters quietly. He simply couldn't imagine what it must have been like. Being a penguin, his parents have been by his side ever since he hatched. Heck, if he tries, he could remember their calls and voices when he was still inside his egg! They fed and nurtured him for months until he was finally ready to fend for himself. So to be forced to fend for himself right after birth is simply mind-boggling. Rei, for his part, doesn't say anything and keeps swimming.

"You must be very strong then," Nagisa speaks up after a few moments of silence, "I don't think I can do what you did. Survive on my own."

"That's because you're a penguin and I'm a ray. I was born ready to be on my own," Rei replies back with a snap, hoping that the penguin would get the idea and leave him alone.

"That's amazing!"

Rei sighs. Since when has anything been easy for him?

The young penguin looks at the young ray with pure wonder in his eyes, "So where are you heading now?"

Rei sighs, "To find food."

"What do you eat?"

"Clams for the most part."

"Cool! I eat fish."

"Yes, I can gather that."

Nagisa giggles, "You're a strange one Rei. You seem to know a lot about me, yet I don't know a lot about…ugm." Nagisa stops mid-sentence, realizing that he's very much out of breath and begins swimming towards the surface.

Rei sighs at the moment of peace before his senses detect something large and dangerous coming towards them.

A shark!

Whipping his head upward, towards the surface, he sees Nagisa still flailing to get to the surface to breathe, and the shark is approaching fast. Without much thought and surprising even himself, Rei pushes himself upward as fast as he could, swimming with all his strength until he is facing Nagisa's back. Using his thin arms usually hidden under his larger fins, Rei grips the penguin and together, they fly out of the water.

Nagisa barely has time to even process what's happening, but when he felt the familiar brush of sea wind, his eyes widen and his mouth falls open to gape. He is flying. Like…actually…frickin…flying! And Rei is somehow holding him under his wing behind him. Boy…they must be a sight for sore eyes...but he's flying!

Rei could feel the wind whipping Nagisa's blond hair as it brushes softly against his chest. Even he couldn't help but gape that the fact that they're out of the water and in the air. He didn't know how or why, he just felt it deep within himself to get away from the shark but to also help the poor penguin. Jumping out of the water never even crossed his mind, and yet here he is. Here they are.

But the moment soon ends, and both ray and penguin fall back into the sea. Wasting no time, Rei clutches Nagisa under him, hiding him from the view of the shark, and swims in the opposite direction, pulling the wiggling penguin with him.

As soon as the coast is clear, Rei lets Nagisa go, and the young penguin exclaims, flapping his wings erratically, "What was that for Rei? I mean…it was amazing! But…!"

"There was a shark," Rei stops Nagisa's babbling, "I…I had to get us both out of there."

Nagisa looks shocked and glances back at the empty ocean, knowing that he very well could have been eaten if it wasn't for Rei's quick thinking.

"Thank you, Rei," the penguin whispers, bowing his head in gratitude.

The ray nods and swims around some more, "You're welcome."

After a few moments of silence, with Rei mostly swimming around Nagisa, the young penguin finally speaks up, his voice wavering in shame and fright, "This...this is my f...first time in the ocean. I…I don't…"

Rei, with an understanding smile, reaches out and gently pats the penguin on the head, "How about I answer a few more of your questions."

That immediately brightens up the young penguin, who starts asking question after question to the young ray. Together, they spend the rest of the day talking and swimming until it was finally time for Nagisa to head back to shore. Rei actually finds himself dreading the penguin's departure, as he'd never realize how lonely he is without a friend to swim with. Nagisa, too, feels bad about having to go but promises to come back the next day. With a parting wave, the new friends split off, one to go back to land, the other remaining in the sea. But there's always tomorrow, and both penguin and ray cannot wait till then.

* * *

 **AN: Thoughts? Let me know what you all think of this story! I currently have a few more chapters for this story done, but they won't be posted till much later, as I have college to get back into and a lot of other works to get started on. That being said, I have not forgotten about my other _Free_! fanfic, and I promise I'll get started on the next chapter soon. **

**With that, I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I'll see you all next time.**

 **Peace!**


	2. The Great Feast

**AN: Heeeeeeyyyy guys...*laughs sheepishly***

 **So this little ditty has been sitting around for ages now, and with everything that's been happening, I never got the chance to go through and edit this piece. But I happen to have had some _Free!_ time and thought, _'why not?'_ Though I probably should still be getting ready for the upcoming school year...** **Nah! This is more fun!**

 **Just a quick note that this chapter takes place roughly a few years after Sousuke and Rin (and Rei and Nagisa) have first met, and just a few months after Haru and Makoto's flashback moment from the previous chapter. This chapter is also heavily inspired by all those Feeding Frenzy footage of various sea predators devouring a massive shoal of fish.**

 **After this, the plan for the story is that all these guys are going to be hanging around the same area, and all subsequent chapters are just snippets of their lives in the ocean.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing. All rights and properties belong to their respective owners, and this story is made just for fun.**

 **And so, let's dive right back in...**

* * *

 **The Great Feast**

News is buzzing all throughout the pod, and each member is shaking with pent up excitement. When Haru and Makoto finally came back after another successful mackerel run, they're immediately swept into their small family group as the pod makes final preparations to migrate to a new territory.

"Mom, where are we going?" Makoto asks as his mom fusses around him and Haru.

"Oh dear, you must not have heard! There's a sudden shift in the currents, and the matriarch has sensed that there's going to be a huge gathering of fish a few leagues away!"

Both Makoto and Haru's eyes widen. It's been ages since the last great fish gathering, and both are excited at the prospect of hunting down some more food. Plus, wherever there's fish, there are also other, larger prey in the area. In no time at all, the pod is on the move. Makoto is beaming as he shoots through the water with Haru by his side. "What fish do you think will be there?! Better yet! What other creatures do you think we'll see?! Oh, I hope there'll tuna!"

Haru smiles at Makoto's excited pitches and interlocks their hands so that they remain side-by-side.

* * *

Sousuke has been wandering the vast ocean for years now, never staying in one area for too long and following wherever the current takes his food. It isn't easy being the biggest fish in the sea as well as a growing teenage male merman. He is somehow always constantly hungry and is thus always on the hunt for food. It can get a little lonely too.

Sousuke sighs at the sight of the vast blue expanse of the open ocean. It's the same view day after day. Sure there are some unique rock formations and reefs, but he's too large now to go near those to explore. And every once and a while, there's even a few human encounters; however, after an unfortunate encounter with some humans, he's learned well enough to avoid them whenever possible, especially if they're in a fast-moving surface floater.

As a whale shark merman, he does have the occasional schools of fish that would swim with him, and even a few individuals that would attach to him for protection, but none are really willing to swim right by him, preferring to avoid his head at all cost. Which is fair, considering he sometimes eats an entire school of small fish similar to them if he's hungry enough. It's at times like these during his lonely travels that he truly misses Rin, the only merman that's willing to speak and play with him. While he has encountered other merpeople of all shapes and sizes, even some of his own kind, no one was like Rin. No one could match his fierce, bright toothy smile or fire up his soul like he could. He has tried to find his way back to the cove where he first met Rin, but has only succeeded in getting himself lost and constantly having to find the right current again in order to find food. Speaking of which, he's starting to feel hungry again.

Hearing the chitter chattering of the school of fish by his tail, Sousuke grunts and tunes them out, knowing better than to try to speak to them. His own, booming voice often scaring them to silence. So with a quiet grace befitting of his large form, Sousuke pushes onward, following the strange, shifting currents, leading him somewhere.

' _At least it's somewhere with food I hope,'_ the whale shark thinks to himself.

Lost in his own thoughts, Sousuke doesn't hear the nervous chittering of the fishes about something swimming close to them. One little fish, surprisingly, bravely swims up closer to Sousuke's head, squeaking into his ear, "M…Mr…Mr. Whale Shark?!" Sousuke doesn't even turn his head, but he does shift his gaze to look at the nervous fish, prompting it with his eyes to continue, "W…w…we think something big is…"

" _Shark_!" the other fishes screech all of a sudden, and before Sousuke knows it, the fishes all scattered throughout the ocean, leaving him alone as another large, dark figure approaches ominously. Gasping, Sousuke makes to swim faster, but then his right fin immediately screams in protest, and he grunts in pain. Suddenly, he feels a large form ram into his side, and in a blinding panic, uses his tail end to strike the other shark hard. Hoping that the force of the hit is enough to stun the predator, Sousuke makes a break for it as fast as he could, the adrenaline allowing him to ignore the pain in his fin.

"Sousuke?! Wait!" a young merman's voice has the whale shark slowing down. It can't be. The voice is different, but the way the other merman said his name sounds oh so familiar. Slowly, Sousuke turns around, and for the first time in years, gazes into the beautiful amber eyes that he never thought he'd see again. Words escape him as all he could do is stare dumbfoundedly as Rin approaches him hesitantly, also unable to believe that Sousuke is there.

They swim in a tight circle. Round and around they went, taking in the sight of each other after so long, both noticing how much the other has changed as well as how much remained the same. Bright maroon locks frame Rin's now more mature face, and Sousuke inhales sharply at the ethereal sight of the other shark merman before him. Suddenly, it's like all those years of lonely travels have been wiped away like a forgotten dream, and Sousuke smirks.

Rin gasps out a breathy chuckle and finally swims up to the larger merman, holding his hand out as if to actually make sure that Sousuke is there, but holds back. The other merman smiles more gently this time and brings up his own hand to press it against Rin's.

Rin then appears to snap out of his trance and pulls back his hand before punching Sousuke in the shoulder, causing the other merman to wince, "Where the heck have you been all these years?!"

Sousuke rubs his shoulders tenderly as he answers, "Around."

"That's it?!"

Sousuke shrugs, "Went wherever the currents took me," he then looks down and away from Rin's inquisitive gaze.

Rin looks like he wanted to retort, but then his gaze falls upon Sousuke's right fin, and a sharp gasp escapes his mouth. Sousuke grimaces, "Rin, it's nothing."

"Like hell it is," Rin growls as he gently grabs the crooked and scratched up fin in his hands. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Rin examines the uneven fin, careful to not jostle it too much, even though Sousuke barely feels any pain from the other merman's touch. "What happened?"

"Swam too close to a human surface floater," Sousuke recounts, remembering the day all too clearly and the pain he had to endure for months, "Couldn't get out of the way fast enough." He then notices Rin's shaking form and brings him up so that they're face to face. With a parting caress, Rin lets go of the fin and finally looks at Sousuke with sad eyes. "I'm fine, Rin. _Really_."

Rin shakes his head, bubbles escaping the corners of his eyes as he scowls, "Why didn't you ever come back?! I thought you'd move on. I thought you forgot."

Sousuke grabs onto Rin's hands with his own, "Rin! I would never forget about you. I've thought about you day after day, but every time I try to come back I…"

"You…" Rin looks at the merman confused.

Sousuke looks away ashamed, "I get lost. I'd lose the current that carries my food. I once had to go an entire day without eating, just to find it again."

"Sousuke," Rin doesn't know whether to feel ashamed or elated that Sousuke had risked so much to try to come back. "You…I…I don't know what to say…"

"It's okay Rin," Sousuke rubs his thumb in a soothing circle against Rin's hand, "The currents brought me back here. Back to you."

Rin blushes a deep red that appears almost purple in the blue ocean. "Don't say things like that!" Deciding to change the subject, Rin then says, "The currents didn't just bring you. It brought some food with it and there's a huge fish gathering in the area. I actually thought you were a shoal from a distance."

Sousuke cocks his head, "Gathering huh? How big?"

Rin smirks, "Biggest one this area has ever seen in a while."

"Well, then I think we should go."

"I didn't think you eat fish."

"If they're small. I'm still a shark after all."

Both mermen smirk before bursting into laughter at the easy banter they'd fallen into.

"You're lucky that it was me that found your sorry fluke," Rin grumbles goodnaturedly. Gripping the larger merman's hand tighter, Rin's smile softens, "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Rin," Sousuke responds affectionately. Smiling, the two friends continue swimming, following the smell of fish hand-in-hand.

* * *

"Nagisa! Are you _insane_!?" Oh what is he saying?! After all these years, he should know the answer by now. "We can't just go there! There are predators!"

"But come on Rei!" the penguin whines, while also pushing the ray merman towards the open ocean. "It's the biggest fish gathering in ages! We have to go!"

"But there are _large predators_!"

"So?! Ai told me that whenever there's a large fish gathering, the law is that no predator is allowed to attack or eat other predators until all the fish is gone!" Ai is a friend of theirs who is a shearwater bird. Nagisa knows the bird more than he does, but from the few times that they've met, Rei can tell that Ai is an honest creature, even if he is a little flighty.

Sighing, Rei looks away, still hesitant. Nagisa huffs and goes up for another breath before going back down next to the drifting ray merman.

" _Come on!_ Just for a little bit! We can go there early before any of the larger predators, get to the fish first, and then leave when sharks start to appear!"

"I don't know Nagisa…I mean…sharks can…"

"Rei…Ai has done this before. _Ai!_ He would never participate if it was dangerous. He once accidentally bumped into a shark merman and was just brushed off! Come on, _please_!"

Looking at Nagisa's adorable, begging penguin eyes, Rei can feel his resolve breaking, "Alright. But we go in my way…"

"Yay!" Nagisa cheers and nudges his head against Rei happily, not noticing the ray merman's blush. Suddenly, they feel a change in the waters around them, and the reef fishes begin bustling and hiding.

Both Rei and Nagisa look to each other at the same time, "They're here!"

Nagisa swims to the surface for a gulp of breath before going back down to Rei. Now being much larger than the penguin, the spotted eagle ray merman grips onto Nagisa firmly, and the two make their way to the open ocean, where a cloud of small fish have amassed by the millions.

* * *

It is a frenzy.

Sea lions and yellowfin tuna are the first to arrive, and they are doing their best to work together to herd the fish upwards towards the surface of the water. Asahi groans loudly as the tightly packed ball of fish he and his sister were gathering is broken by a stray tuna. Baring their teeth, the tuna is quick to swim away from the irate sea lion merpeople.

"Ugh! When are those dolphins going to get here!?" he growls as a slippery fish manages to evade him. His sister is about to teasingly nip him when some chirping and screeching sounds echo through the water.

"Finally!" Asahi cheers at the sight of the fishy mammals.

In no time flat, hundreds of dolphins and a pod of killer whales enter the scene, all clicking and chirping as they form a coordinated attack strategy that the sea lions can only dream of coming up with. Working in tandem, everyone races around the shoals of fish, pushing them to the surface.

With a smirk, Asahi races in to join the feast.

Rei and Nagisa managed to reach the shoal of fish early, but, like the sea lions, had a hard time catching anything. Nagisa had to constantly go up for air, and Rei is a bit tired from having to carry the penguin all the way out there. However, the arrival of the dolphins and killer whales makes things easier, and Nagisa, in no time, is able to catch up to three fish in a go. Even Rei manages to catch a few, though staying close to the edge away from the larger predators.

Popping up for air once again, another head pops up from the sea with a fish in his mouth.

"Nagisa!" the head chirps happily.

"Ai!" Nagisa greets the shearwater happily.

"What are you doing here!?" Ai asks, awestruck at seeing his friend all the way out here. The massive shoal is quite a distance from the island where Nagisa lives, so the shearwater is surprised at his friend's appearance.

The penguin shrugs while trying to maintain his balance in the choppy water, "Doing something no penguin has done before and dragging Rei with him!"

"He's here too?! I'd like to meet him!"

"Later! Meet us by the reef!" Nagisa suggests, after nearly getting run over by a dolphin merman.

Nodding, Ai takes to the skies again, while Nagisa dives back down.

Haru shakes his head to try to refocus his effort on the task at hand, ignoring the question in his mind as to why there's a penguin in all this chaos.

Having been raised by the killer whales, Haru often finds it hard to communicate with others of his own kind. So instead of working with them, he works with the killer whales' team. Finding Makoto swiping his larger fluke at the smaller fish to stun them, Haru swims over, "You got any yet?!"

"Yea!" Makoto reassures him with a smile, before swimming off again in his own formation. Haru sighs and goes back to work at the prompting of an older killer whale.

From the depths, Makoto spots some shadows moving in as he swims. These shadows melt away to reveal several more merpeople. But they aren't other dolphins.

Sharks.

"It's about time," Makoto thinks before going back to catch some more fish.

With the arrival of the sharks from below, the massive shoal is trapped, quite literally, on all sides. Gou manages to snatch a fish when she feels another shark brush up against her. Grunting, she snaps at the other shark, only to come face to face with a much larger, bull tiger shark merman. His bright red hair seems to light up the ocean.

"Sorry, about that," the male says kindly, giving her a toothy grin.

Shaking her head, Gou groans, "Whatever," and she swims off before the male could say anything else.

And speaking of male sharks, Gou looks around amidst all the chaos and wonders where her brother is. _'He better not whine to me later if he misses the fish gathering!_ ' Gou scoffs. The two had only met a few years ago and had seen each other occasionally in their travels. While they aren't too sure that they share the same parents, their similar looks made the two assume that they are siblings or, at least, share one parent. Either way, they became good friends.

Snapping out of her memories, the shark mermaid pushes herself back into the shoal, diving into the mass of fish still remaining. Coming out on the other side with a fish in her clutches, she is stunned to come face to face with another shark merman. This time, the merman shares her maroon hair and amber eyes.

"Hey, Gou!" Rin gives her a familiar toothy grin.

"Big brother!" she squeals happily and swims into his arms, fish long forgotten. She then backs up, and the two swim deeper to get away from the frenzy. "What took you so long?!"

"Sorry kid," he ruffles her hair teasingly, much to her chagrin, "Bumped into an old friend and decided to bring him along. He's not the fastest swimmer."

"Says the shark who doesn't have a messed up fin," a deep booming voice from below sends Gou reeling, but Rin pulls her back, reassuring her that it's alright.

From below, a huge merman swims up to them until he is by their side. Gou's eyes widen as she gapes at the huge shark merman.

"Gou…this is Sousuke. I told you about him once."

Gou shakes her head, remembering Rin mentioning an old friend he once knew. Reaching out, she shakes hands with the larger merman. Smiling, she then gasps and looks back up at the shrinking mass of fish.

"Guys! We have to hurry!"

Rin nods and is about to swim up, but Sousuke hesitates at the sight of so many other creatures. Being a loner for so many years, aside from the schools of fish that surround him, the whale shark isn't used to being around so many different, larger species. He gulps nervously.

Sensing the other merman's hesitance, Rin swims back and grabs Sousuke's hand reassuringly. "It's okay. Just go up and do your thing. The law will keep the others at bay."

Sousuke looks into Rin's comforting eyes and nods. Gripping his hand tighter, Rin leads Sousuke up towards the feeding frenzy, Gou waiting for them at the edge of the mass. With a flick of his fin, Sousuke launches himself past the two sharks and into the shoal of fish, filtering as many of the small fish as he can into his mouth.

Rin joins him a moment later, lightly bumping into his side as the two eat their fill. As for the other species, they know better than to go anywhere near the whale shark's head.

Soon, the fish's numbers begin to decline. With only a few smaller tightly packed balls of fish left, the last of them are quickly devoured by the arrival of a few humpback whales. It took sea lions, tuna, birds, sharks, dolphins, killer whales, humpback whales, a whale shark, a ray, and a penguin to empty the open ocean and fill it with sparkling scales.

Tired from the frenzy and wary of each other, the predators disperse with little conflict. The tuna, dolphins, humpback whales, and sharks swim off back to sea. The killer whale pod and their one dolphin member decide to stay for a while more. The sea lions swim back to shore, and the birds fly or swim back to the rocky coast, along with the ray. And the whale shark disappears just as fast as he appeared into the depths.

* * *

Meanwhile….

"Holy fish sticks, Sarah!" a diver exclaims as she climbs back onto the boat, tossing a heavy camera onboard before herself. "That has got to be the coolest dang thing I've ever seen in my life!"

Sarah laughs and helps haul her sister back onto the boat, "I saw the whales and birds, Addie! What the heck happened?!"

As the other members of the team help both Addie and her dive partner/boyfriend stow away their gear, Addie goes into an excited rant about what she saw.

"So like…there were a bunch of sea lions and tuna mostly herding the fish to the surface…then out of nowhere a ray comes in with a penguin under its wings! Like what the heck!? Then the dolphins, sharks, and frickin' killer whales came out of nowhere, and it was crazy! They were swimming and zipping and just devouring the fishes! Then out of the dark…a frickin' whale shark comes out and starts sucking in a ton of fish! The humpbacks eventually came as well to finish off the last of the school!

"And do you want to know what the craziest part is!? As everyone is leaving, I saw all but one of the dolphins leave. The one that stayed went to the killer whale pod, and I swear! The dolphin and one of the killer whales were kissing! Or nuzzled! Or something! And the whale shark! It was followed by two tiger sharks! The penguin and ray disappeared though before I could find them, but they were just there!"

Everyone stared…stunned at what the young woman said. They all turn to the young man by her side.

"It's true," he says nonchalantly.

"Oh, Bucky!" Addie coos and hugs her boyfriend.

"Well…it looks like we'll just have to take your word for it, sis," Sarah says, holding up the camera in one hand and resting the other hand on her hips, "'Cause you never took off the lens cap."

In the distance, a bloodcurdling wail of despair rips through the ocean air, making every fish, bird, and mammal within a 50-yard radius recoil and swim away.

* * *

 **AN: Welp...that's a mood.**

 **Quick reminder: in this story, while all the merpeople see each other as merpeople, humans can only see them as the animals they represent.**

 **Thank you all for reading this! Let me know what you think! Also, follow me on Tumblr (The Dragon Writer) as that is where I will be posting updates and announcements on all my writing on both FanFiction and AO3, as well as Twitter ( SerephinaD).**

 **With that, until the next time, this is FD signing out!**

 **Peace!**


	3. Meet Kisumi

**AN: Heya readers! I'm back with the next chapter of _Into the Deep Blue Sea_ , and let me start by saying I'm so so sorry for the delay (for honestly all my writing haha). This last semester had been a bit of a struggle to get through, but since I'm now on Winter/Holiday Break, I really don't have an excuse anymore lol. **

**Now, my original vision for this story is that it is going to be a Splice of Life story, with each chapter being a random event and there being no real plot to the story. Though this may be confusing since my previous two chapters make it seem like there will be some sort of plot, there really isn't and most of it will be fluff and some angst here and there.**

 **That said, here is the latest chapter. And I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **Meet Kisumi**

Kisumi peeks out of his small cave, making sure that the coast is clear before swimming out completely. Stretching his arms and his long, pink tentacles, the octopus merman swims across the reef, keeping an ever-watchful eye out for potential prey and hungry predators.

" _Haru_!"

The loud call sends the octopus scrambling for cover as a large shadow looms over the reef. It's a killer whale merman. And a pretty young one at that. The merman is swimming around, seeming to look for someone named 'Haru'. Kisumi will admit that while his size is daunting, the merman has a gentle, handsome looking face.

 _'Wait…handsome? Oh, heck yea,'_ Kisumi smirks and peers at the frantically searching whale.

Deciding to be brave and disregarding his instincts to avoid the large predator, he swims up to the merman's side. "Are you looking for someone?"

This causes the merman to twist around in fright, nearly striking the smaller octopus merman with his tail. Kisumi dodges to the side quickly and ducks into a small cave, gasping and shaking as all three of his hearts hammer in his chest.

"Hey! Wait! I'm sorry!" Makoto cries out, seeing the smaller creature duck into the rocks. Swimming closer, Makoto could just make out some long, pink tentacles, "I promise I won't hurt you. I'm just looking for my friend. Can you please help me?"

The tentacles retreat even further in the crevice, and Makoto feels just awful for scaring the creature away. Cursing his loud and scary demeanor (even though it really isn't compared to the other killer whales), Makoto calms himself down and tries again, "Hey. I really am sorry for scaring you. I promise I won't hurt you."

Kisumi shyly peeks out, "Promise?"

Makoto nods enthusiastically and gapes in wonder as Kisumi squeezes out of the tiny cave much smaller than he is. With the role of his flexible shoulders, Kisumi gazes up at the merman before him and gives him his most charming smile, "So…you're looking for your friend, right? Don't think anyone's mentioned the presence of another killer whale…"

"Actually…he's a dolphin merman," Makoto interrupts sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Huh…" Kisumi gives it some thought, "Don't think anyone's mentioned a dolphin either." However, seeing Makoto slump at the news, Kisumi is quick to add, "But I can help! I know the reef very well! Born and survived here. I know practically everyone!"

Makoto beams happily, "Really?! Thank you so much!"

"No problem. I'm Kisumi by the way," he then flashes a flirtatious smile and runs a hand through his pink hair, "And yes, it sounds like 'kiss me'."

"Makoto," the killer whale says with a kind smile, oblivious to the smaller merman's advances, "Thank you for helping."

Kisumi blushes and sighs, "It's really no problem," he then gestures for the larger merman to follow.

However, after a few minutes, it's clear that their swimming arrangement isn't going to work. With every stroke of his fluke, Makoto shoots past the octopus merman by nearly five meters. Each time, he is forced to stop and wait with a sheepish and apologetic look on his face.

"This…isn't…gonna… _work_ ," Kisumi pants after, once again, catching up to the killer whale.

"You want a ride then?" Makoto offers, gesturing to his back.

Kisumi blushes bright red, but nods tiredly. With a swish of his tentacles, he swims forward, landing on Makoto's dorsal fin and shifting his tentacles so that they're wrapped securely around the large fin. Makoto shudders at the odd feeling, but remains still.

"Is this okay?" Kisumi squeaks.

"Yea," Makoto then looks back, "Okay, hold on tight."

Together, the two continue their search for the missing dolphin, until, finally, a reef fish points to a sandbank, where a dolphin had asked him where to find some nice shells. When the pair reached the spot, they are met with the sight of Haru upside down as he rifles through the sand, inspecting each shell intensely and dropping those that don't seem to match what he's looking for. His eyes are focused only on the task at hand, and thus, he doesn't notice that he's gained an audience. Kisumi tilts his head as he inspects the dolphin, but when he turns to face Makoto, he stiffens and deflates. Makoto is looking at Haru with nothing but pure adoration and affection in his eyes, and Kisumi can't help but feel jealous at the dolphin merman. The octopus merman sighs softly and shrugs, ' _Oh well. Plenty of fish in the sea, as they say.'_

Looking up from his search, Haru sees Makoto and quickly swims over, but the sight of Kisumi still clutching onto Makoto's dorsal fin has him narrowing his deep blue eyes.

"Makoto…what's that on your fin?"

"Uh…oh…this is Kisumi! He helped me find you," Makoto explains, gesturing to the octopus still on his fin.

"Hello," Kisumi flashes his brightest smile, even as Haru narrows in on him like some sort of pest.

"Can we eat it?"

"Haru!" Makoto exclaims as Kisumi screeches and ducks behind the tall dorsal fin, "Be nice! He helped me find you! Besides, what were you doing here anyway?!"

Haru finally looks away from the octopus and turns his attention to the larger merman, "I was going to surprise Ren, Ran, and you." He then shows Makoto some shells in his hands, all of them sparkling and shining in the afternoon sunlight streaming in from above.

Makoto gasps, "They're beautiful!"

"Not really," Kisumi shakes his head, even as the dolphin glares pointedly at him, "There are way bigger shells in another area of the reef. I can show you if you want," he winks at Makoto, who beams in excitement, while Haru narrows his eyes even more.

"Really!? Haru! Let's go! We're planning on being here for a while, so why not explore?" Haru wants to say 'no' and drag Makoto back to the open ocean away from the clingy merman on him, but his earnest, pleading eyes quickly break his resolve. Haru nods, and an idea comes to his mind. Reaching out, the dolphin merman drops the shells in his hand and grasps Makoto's hands, pulling him closer so that they are rubbing noses affectionately.

This makes Kisumi roll his violet eyes and cross his arms in a huff. Though a smile does sneak its way onto his face at the adorable display.

And so, the three swim through the reef together for the rest of the afternoon, looking for cool shells, plants, and rocks that they can play with and show the others in the pod.

Unbeknownst to the trio, some divers were nearby and saw the whole thing. Now they're trying to explain to their colleagues how they saw a killer whale and dolphin swimming together playfully around the reef and how an octopus is seen on the killer whale's dorsal fin, looking like the most chilled creature ever getting a free ride around like a BOSS.

* * *

 **AN: Hey, I couldn't just give Kisumi a sad ending lol. At least now he's got some street creds after getting to ride on a killer whale haha. Also, jealous Haru is kinda fun to write, and, of course, cuddly and sweet MakoHaru just makes my day all the more happier.**

 **Anyway, thank you so much for reading, and I hope that everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday season.**

 **Warm wishes!**

 **FD**


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